Coupling



Patented Nov. 2, 1948 ICE i CDUPLING George Freeman Lomelino, Glney,lIll., assigner of one-half to Lawrence E. Ostrom, Olney, Ill.

` Application April 24,1946, Serial No. 664,511 I 1 This inventionrelates to couplings, and the like, and has for one of its objects theproduction of a simple and efficient means for quickly and securelycoupling sections of pipe, tubular material, or shafting, together.

A further object of this invention is the production of a coupling whichwill completely seal the coupled sections together in a manner toprevent slipping or accidental disconnection of the coupled sections ofpipe, shafting, or other tubular material.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will appear throughoutthe following specication and claim.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the cousling;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the gripping thimble;

Figure 5 is a modified formof the coupling illustrating acoupling suchas a T-connection.

By referring to the drawing, it will be seen that IIJ designates thebody of the coupling of any suitable exterior contour, which body isprovided with oppositely threaded ends I I. The body I Il is alsoprovided with a central bore I2 and may be provided, if desired, with anintegral central abutment collar I3 against which the pipe or othersections I4 to be joined, abut. The body I0 is provided with insetinclined packing lring abutment walls I5 near the opposite ends of thebody and a suitable packing ring I 6 is placed in abutting relation witheach wall I5. These packing rings are readily compressible and arenecessarily impervious to destructive action of fluid, steam, or gas, towhich they may b-e exposed. These packing rings are of the conventionaltransverse contour to create an inward and downward pressure of thepacking against the 'elements engaged to provide an ei'licient leakproofseal therearound. y

A gripping'thimble I 'I is fitted in each open end of the body I0 and isprovided with a beveledinner face I8 which abuts against the adjoiningpacking ring I 6. The thimble I'I is provided with a cut-away cavity I9adjacent the inner end thereof land is also provided with longitudinallyextending slots 20 therebydening a plurality of spring-gripping jaws 2|which are preferably four in number. The thimble tapers toward its outerend to dene a substantially cone-like for-v mation, v*as shown -inFigures 2 and 4. The spring- 1 claim. (C1. 285-123) 2 i gripping jaws 2lare provided with teeth projections 22 or circumferential grooves upontheir inner faces which are preferably cut to resist outward pull uponthe pipes I4 and prevent accidental dislocation of the joined parts. Theouter face of each thimble I'I is smooth and is adapted to be engaged bythe tapering wall 23 of the clamping sleeve or nut 24, which may be ofany suitable exterior contour. A sleeve 24 is threaded upon each end ofthe body I ll, as shown.

It should be understood that the clamping sleeves or nuts 24, whenthreaded upon the body I0, will rst compress the packing rings IB to acomplete sealing position, and as these sleeves or nuts 24 are furtherthreaded upon thebody l, the teeth 22 will bite into the pipes orelements I4 and firmly secure the parts in place against accidentalremoval. This action is due to the wedging pressure oi' the inclinedwalls 23 upon the spring tapering jaws 2I of the thimbles I'I. and theabutment of the inner ends of the thimbles against the compressedsealing or packing rings I6. In this way a completely sealednon-slipping cou pling joint is provided for connecting sections ofipipe and the like together in a simple and efficient manner. It isobvious, however. that the extent of the seal is dependent upon theamount of pres# sure placed upon the sealingr or `packing rings I5 byforcing the thimbles I'I against the rings I6, as the sleeves or nuts 24are threaded upon the body I I).

It should be further understood that the gripping action of the teeth 22upon the pine I 4 is suiciently delayed to produce a pack-off before theteeth 22 become embeddedinto the pipes or other elements I4. As thesleeves or nuts 24 are further threaded upon the body I0, the teeth 22become more deeply embedded and provide a more denite grip upon .thepipes or elements I4.

As shown in Figure 5, the structure shown in Figures 1 to 4, may beadapted to a T-joint. using the same structural elements which are1'ndicated by the same numerals with the co-eiiicient a added thereto.It should be understood that the same structure may be incorporated infittings of various types such as Ts, Ls, nipples of all types and otheritems used to produce joints. It should be further understood thatcertain `cle-- tail changes in the detail structure may be made withoutdepartingfrom the spirit of the invention, so long as these changes fallwithin the scope of the appended claim. 4

Having described the invention, what is claimed is" A coupling of theclass described comprising a body having a bore to receive a connectingeiement, said body having a packing receiving recess, a compressi'blepacking tted in said recess, a thimble slidably engaging the packing andhaving a thickened packing engaging end for compressing the packing andsealing the areas around said element, said thimble having a splittapering opposite end defining a plurality of grippingjaws,sai'dnthimble also having; a' cuteaway cavity in'its inner faceintermediate the gripping jaws and the thickened packing engaging endto"y` provide relatively thin spring-like connecting" portions betweenthe thickened end and the grip--v ping jaws, the split deiiningthe ,jawsextending from the outer end of the jawsxavcrossrthe'cutaway cavity tothe thickened end, a wedging elen ment surrounding thethimltilefandmengaging,thejv tapering jaws for clamping the jaws inllockedy engagement kwith a connecting element tobe re# ceived by saidbody, andhgripping teeth formed received by said body.

GEORGE FREEMAN LOMELINO.

REFERENCES CITED The follovi'ring'` references are `ffofirecordxr: inthe file of thisv patent:

UNTED STATES PATENTS 'Number Name Date 1,o3o23w .Han June 1e, 1912y[1,381,931 "s 'Ostrander June 21, 1921 FQREIGN PATENTS Number I`Country Date 17,848 Great Britain Sept. 24, 1895 4 upon the inner faceoisaid jaws for biting into the connecting element, the inner faces ofthe springlike connecting portions being spaced radially from theconnecting element which is to be

